Obsolete for some, necessary for others, the star rating in the hotel industry is now more than ever questioned. In Quebec, the abolition of this classification has already been proposed by the government.
Indeed, the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, tabled the bill in this sense last June, while saying she was happy to hear all the comments during the next parliamentary commission.
However, for some hoteliers, this classification is certainly outdated, but it still provides a legal framework for the activity. In the past, the star rating was an indicator for customers and investors.
But the star system needs to be modernized. In a constantly evolving environment, basing a rating system on criteria that are ten years old is questionable, when they do not date back to the early 2000s. Moreover, it is much easier for a hotel to obtain stars than in the past. These criteria are therefore no longer necessarily indicative of a hotel's level of comfort.
Many consumers admit that the official number of stars of an establishment is less important than the stars and comments given by previous customers on the various reservation sites.
It is not so much a question of abolition, but rather of modernization. The rating must change, otherwise it will be relegated to a minor role in the hotel industry. The same goes for hoteliers who must give meaning to the stars that have always guided them.
